![]() Check first to see if your insurance will cover it. *From How to Find Out Your Blood Typeīlood typing isn’t a part of routine blood work like a metabolic panel, so you would need to ask your clinician specifically for that to be tested, said Hudson. Since they have no A, B or Rh antigens, their blood can be safely given in hospitals and emergency departments to people whose blood type is unknown. Those with O negative blood make up a small percentage of the population but are the most in-demand as blood donors. Only one percent of the population has AB negative blood. The Red Cross reports that O positive is the most common blood type, held by 38 percent of the population. “As part of routine care, a mother with Rh negative blood will receive a shot during her second trimester and another after delivery to prevent her body from making these antibodies,” said Maggie Hudson, a certified nurse midwife at Samaritan Obstetrics & Gynecology - Corvallis. If the fetus in a future pregnancy is also a positive blood type, those antibodies in the mother can cross the placenta and attack the blood of the fetus as it grows, causing complications like anemia, jaundice or stillbirth. According to the American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology, if the baby is Rh positive and the mother is Rh negative it can cause the mother’s body to create antibodies, which can be a problem for future pregnancies. During delivery, the blood of the mother and the baby can sometimes mix. When a woman is pregnant, having a blood test to see if she is Rh negative occurs early in her prenatal care. Someone with A positive blood would have both an A antigen and an Rh antigen on their red blood cells, while those with A negative blood have an A antigen but no Rh antigen. Since Rh factor is the next antigen after ABO blood type most likely to cause complications, blood is further categorized into Rh positive or negative for a total of eight different blood types: A positive, A negative, B positive, B negative, AB positive, AB negative, and O positive or O negative. If you have the Rh antigen in your blood you are Rh positive. You may also hear this called the Rh factor. However, a group of antigens that is most likely to cause a reaction if not matched is called the Rh group, specifically RhD. Most antigens are benign – they won’t hurt you if you receive blood that contains it. ![]() Some antigens are only found within certain racial or ethnic groups. In addition to the four main ABO groups you may have heard of blood that is positive or negative.Īccording to the American Society of Hematology, there are 35 major groups of antigens besides A and B. Those with AB blood have both the A and B antigen so they can receive blood from anyone with type A, B or O blood. That means that it can be given to anyone without a problem because there are no new antigens being introduced that may stimulate an immune response. While type A and B blood types are fairly straight forward, O and AB are unique. Fortunately, Cumberland noted, an incompatibility reaction is very rare since strict protocols are in place at medical facilities to ensure patients receive the right type of blood. This immune response can lead to kidney damage or death if not treated right away. Your body will recognize blood with the same antigen and welcome it but if the donor blood has a different antigen, your body will treat the new blood as an invader and attack it. If you need a blood transfusion, it is important to get the right type. “These antigens don’t affect your health or the way your body functions, it is just a genetic difference like hair color or height,” said Josh Cumberland, lead medical lab scientist at Samaritan Albany General Hospital. The antigens in your blood and your blood type are determined by your genetics. Type O blood has neither A nor B antigens.Type AB blood has both A and B antigens. ![]()
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